NFU Scotland calls for radical overhaul of food labelling

The comments follow a survey into public attitudes towards food labelling – undertaken by Edinburgh-based market research specialists Diffley Partnership and were presented to the Union’s Autumn Conference.

Diffley Partnership’s research found that only 41% of consumers in Scotland felt that they knew either a lot or a fair amount about where their food was grown and produced. Further, less than half (49%) said information about the country of origin on display was adequate.

Commenting on the results, NFU Scotland chief executive John Davidson said: “Consumers are entitled to know the origin of the food they are buying to help them make informed choices. ​

“Our findings support a radical overhaul – led by Governments but also embraced by retailers – of the regulatory framework governing the rules around food labelling and we call on all Governments to act.”​

Key findings

The survey also found that the top three main reasons on why consumers buy what they buy were quality, freshness and price. But 6 in 10 consumers (59% across the UK and 62% in Scotland) said that country of origin was important.

It also found that (69%) of consumers in Scotland believed a label would be useful that clearly explained if 50% or more of the product was grown and produced in Scotland. A slightly smaller number of 59% believed a similar label displaying if more than 50% of the produce was grown and produced ‘outwith’ (outside) Scotland/UK would be useful.

Scottish consumers proved to be more patriotic than their counterparts across the border when it came to food purchasing choices, with 71% of consumers more likely to buy a product if it featured the Saltaire on the packaging. This was compared to 58% across the UK with regards to their own country’s flag (England, Wales etc).

An estimated 66% of consumers in Scotland believed a primary benefit to purchasing local foods was it supported the local economy, while 50% believed a primary benefit of this was preserving farming communities.

Coupled with this, a significant number of respondents (78%) in Scotland said they were willing to spend more on local food – 70% cent were willing to spend more on food produced anywhere in the UK.

Supportive of local food

“Consumers across the UK, but especially in Scotland, are extremely supportive of local food producers and are willing to spend more to support this,”​ Davidson added. “This needs to be understood by the market in respect of their sourcing policies.​

“There is only limited knowledge within consumers as to the origin of the food that they buy. This supports the view that there is a lack of transparency for consumers to help them make informed choices. ​

“And there is staunch support for more and clearer information on pack where the majority of the product is grown and produced ‘outwith’ Scotland/UK – this could be in the form of a new label which clearly identifies this.”  ​

Meanwhile, consumers struggle to get clear answers about the origin of the food they eat due to misleading, inconsistent and meaningless origin labels​​, according to Which?, the consumer rights pressure group.